Page 115 - HBR's 10 Must Reads for New Managers

The Authenticity

Paradox

by Herminia Ibarra

A

AUTHENTICITY HAS BECOME THE GOLD standard for leadership. But a
simplistic understanding of what it means can hinder your growth and
limit your impact.
Consider Cynthia, a general manager in a health care organization.
Her promotion into that role increased her direct reports 10-fold and
expanded the range of businesses she oversaw—and she felt a little
shaky about making such a big leap. A strong believer in transparent,
collaborative leadership, she bared her soul to her new employees:
“I want to do this job,” she said, “but it’s scary, and I need your help.”
Her candor backfired; she lost credibility with people who wanted
and needed a confident leader to take charge.
Or take George, a Malaysian executive in an auto parts company
where people valued a clear chain of command and made decisions
by consensus. When a Dutch multinational with a matrix structure
acquired the company, George found himself working with peers
who saw decision making as a freewheeling contest for the best-
debated ideas. That style didn’t come easily to him, and it contra-
dicted everything he had learned about humility growing up in his
country. In a 360-degree debrief, his boss told him that he needed to
sell his ideas and accomplishments more aggressively. George felt he
had to choose between being a failure and being a fake.

101